Chapter 2150: Shizong Arc 18: The Emperor's Will

The eastern matters had barely been given a suggestion when trouble arose in the west. In the hall, Liu Yao looked at Xiao Jing, the Deputy Commissioner of the Court of Dependencies, and noticed the look of difficulty on his face. He could not help but let out a sigh, reached a hand forward, and gestured, saying: "Go on, what troublesome matter is it now?"

Xiao Jing, courtesy name Jingyuan, let us speak of his origins. He was the youngest son of Xiao Siwen, the Marquis of Guiyi (a posthumous title conferred after Liu Wenji ascended the throne, not among the hereditary titles). He was born to a Han woman whom Xiao Siwen took after the Xiao clan migrated south.

In other words, Xiao Jing was the reigning Emperor's maternal uncle — the Son of Heaven Liu Wenji's own mother's brother, Liu Wenji. Compared to outstanding talents of the Xiao clan like Xiao Gong and Xiao Hui, Xiao Jing was the one of purest pedigree, the true clan head of the Xiao clan of Yunzhou. (After the Xiao clan migrated south, they drifted through many places in the Central Plains and Hedong, and ultimately moved back north, establishing their clan seat at Shanyang's Yunzhou.)

At the same time, Xiao Jing's official position was not small either — Deputy Commissioner of the Court of Dependencies was a rank-three post. Moreover, the position of Commissioner was currently vacant, meaning that in the entire vast Court of Dependencies, apart from the Prince of Xuchang, Liu Yao, the chancellor with direct oversight, Xiao Jing held the greatest say and actually managed all court affairs.

Perhaps due to the Xiao clan's consistently low-key style, Xiao Jing, as the current maternal uncle of the state, remained humble and cautious even with his high position and heavy authority, showing not the slightest ostentation, and daring not show any negligence toward his direct superior, Prince Xu Chang, Liu Yang.

Among the reasons for this, besides the restraint of family tradition, was also the matter of Empress Dowager Xiao. When Liu Wenji ascended the throne, it could be said that one man's rise lifted all his connections, and the rise of the Xiao clan's political standing at court was only natural.

But in the vast Xiao clan, petty villains were inevitably unavoidable. Some who used their status as imperial relatives to do evil and abuse power in defiance of the law inevitably appeared within the clan. Then, before Liu Wenji could take any measures, Empress Dowager Xiao proactively helped him resolve the trouble — all Xiao clan members who committed offenses were stripped of their clan registration, exiled to the South Seas, and forbidden forever from returning to the mainland.

Not to mention the clan seat of Yunzhou — even many who wanted to return to the grasslands were not permitted. Empress Dowager Xiao disposed of several dozen such people in one go, including no small number of elite sons of the clan. Through nearly cruel means, she forcibly and thoroughly quelled the restlessness that Liu Wenji's ascension had brought to the Xiao clan.

Toward her own brothers, Empress Dowager Xiao also gave both admonitions and warnings, keeping Xiao Jing trembling with fear, daring not to make the slightest trouble. Toward this elder sister, he had been filled with reverence and awe since childhood, and he knew very well where the "bottom line" lay.

At this moment, facing Liu Yang's inquiry, Xiao Jing maintained his usual humility, cupped his hands, wore a smile, and replied: "In answer to Your Highness, the matter is not great, but it is indeed somewhat troublesome. It is still the matter of Khotan — the exiled King of Khotan, Yuchi Jue, has come to petition again."

At the mention of this man and this matter, a look of distress immediately appeared on Liu Yang's handsome face. This was indeed a troublesome affair. The court had debated it many times but had never arrived at a clear stance — everyone had something to say, though of course none of it concerned the survival of Khotan itself.

And as the court institution that directly dealt with these vassal states, the Court of Dependencies also needed to have its own stance on this matter — this was its duty and proper obligation. However, at present, this stance was still somewhat hesitant, because they had not yet figured out what the Emperor was thinking. For the Court of Dependencies, which held a certain degree of decision-making power over such matters, the Emperor's attitude was of paramount importance.

Over the past period, after successfully arriving at the capital, the Khotan ruler and his ministers had been active within Luoyang city. Besides seeking an audience with the Emperor, they frequently visited relevant court departments and various senior ministers — and the Court of Dependencies was the one they ran to most often. But clearly, such running around was largely ineffective, simply because the imperial will was undecided.

They had hit soft refusals at the Court of Dependencies more than once or twice, but the Khotan ruler and his ministers remained persistent, even clinging and pestering — after all, apart from this, they truly had no other means or paths to choose.

And seeing Xiao Jing's expression, one could tell how much of a headache he had been given by their pestering. Liu Yang asked: "Where is Yuchi Jue now?"

"As usual, received at the guest quarters!" Xiao Jing replied.

Hearing this, Liu Yang pondered for quite a while, his furrowed brow gradually relaxing. Looking at Xiao Jing, he instructed: "I will not receive him today. You convey a message on my behalf — tell him to be patient and not anxious. The court is currently discussing the matter of Khotan and will give him an answer!"

Hearing Liu Yang say this, Xiao Jing could not help but be surprised. He looked up at Liu Yang and said: "This is the reply you wish to give Yuchi Jue?"

Liu Yang also understood where Xiao Jing's surprise came from — today's reply was already the most positive and proactive official response the court had given regarding Khotan in quite some time.

Meeting Xiao Jing's surprised gaze, Liu Yao sighed softly: "Dragging it out forever is no solution either. The matter of Khotan, the matter of the three kingdoms of the Western Regions — these must be resolved eventually. Since the matter has already arisen, avoidance is hardly the best choice!"

"What Your Highness says is reasonable!" Hearing this, Xiao Jing thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Thirteenth brother, oh thirteenth brother — when you do things, why can't you do them cleanly? You even let people come file complaints at the central government." In a moment of vexation, Liu Yang could not help muttering to himself.

Taking a deep breath and drinking a mouthful of hot milk wine, Liu Yang strove to keep his mind calm and clear. But when he noticed Xiao Jing, his thoughts involuntarily drifted. This Deputy Commissioner of the Court of Dependencies before him had taken office somewhat later than he had, yet was famous for his "dullness."

On ordinary days, he was also extremely respectful toward him, always maintaining a humble attitude, never displaying any particular strengths — even at this moment, with this matter, he had not revealed the slightest independent opinion.

Yet with such a "mediocre" deputy handling affairs, the Court of Dependencies ran smoothly and orderly. How could such a situation be ordinary? Could it be that this man was also concealing his abilities?

Such a thought flashed through Liu Yang's mind, and then the figure of Emperor Liu Wenji rapidly surfaced. When it came to humility and concealing one's abilities, who could compare to the current Son of Heaven?

Carrying somewhat tangled thoughts, after a brief preparation, Liu Yang went to Chongzheng Hall for an audience with the Emperor. He carried two documents with him — one was a proposal regarding matters of the Wanyan Jurchen and the Andong direction, and the other concerned the matter of Khotan, accompanied by a detailed introduction to the situation of the three kingdoms of Anxi and the Middle and West Asian regions over the past twenty years.

In the palace, inside the great hall renamed "Chongzheng," Emperor Liu Wenji lay reclined in a lounge chair, the chair gently rocking, his calm gaze fixed upon the enormous map hanging high in the hall.

On the complete imperial map marking where the radiance of the Great Han reached, the central empire was like a sun just rising, standing eternally in the sky, while the surrounding vassal states were like encircling stars — no matter how brilliantly they shone, they were all enveloped by the empire's intense light.

As the supreme ruler of the empire, Liu Wenji felt both pride and pressure within his heart — after all, to be a sun, one must first possess the heat and luminosity to illuminate the world. The hall was utterly silent. Beside the imperial presence, only Prince Xu Chang, Liu Yang, accompanied him — though he remained silent, not sitting either, merely standing to one side, waiting for the Emperor to finish his deliberations.

After a long while, Liu Wenji, whose gaze had been wandering back and forth between the eastern and western sides, stopped. His eyes fell upon the distant position of the three kingdoms of Anxi, and he asked softly: "What do you think — how should the matter of Khotan be handled?"

Upon the question, Liu Yang first savored and weighed the Emperor's tone, deliberated for a moment, then replied: "Kangju raised troops without authorization and without cause, and destroyed a vassal state. This trend absolutely cannot be allowed to grow. This trend absolutely cannot be allowed to grow. Otherwise, let alone reforming the system of vassal relations, even the original structure would be difficult to preserve!"

Liu Yang's words caused Liu Wenji to turn his head, looking at him with an expression of attentive listening: "Continue!"

Seeing the Emperor's reaction, Liu Yang deliberated a moment more, then said: "Regardless of anything else, Prince Liu Ye of Kangju's actions are destroying the established system of the Great Han (render 康王 as 'Prince Kang' and 康居王 as 'Prince of Kangju' throughout), with extremely bad influence. He must be punished, to demonstrate to both internal and external vassals the court's determination to uphold the patriarchal system.

Furthermore, since Your Majesty wishes to carry out vassal reform and reorganize the regulations of the vassal system, the matter of Khotan may well be a breakthrough point."

After a moment's consideration, Liu Wenji raised a finger and asked: "How should he be punished?"

Liu Yang cupped his hands and said: "A small punishment to serve as a great warning!" "How can a small punishment serve as a great warning?" Liu Wenji immediately refuted.

Liu Yang felt a slight chill within, and reported solemnly: "Kangju is far away, and the three kingdoms of Anxi are closely connected — pulling one hair moves the whole body. Moreover, it was enfeoffed personally by Shizu, a close blood relative — this cannot but be considered!"

"I understand your meaning!" Hearing this, Liu Wenji stated: "However, what King Kang violently destroyed is precisely the ancestral system established by Emperor Shizu. If we govern by the patriarchal law, who can say anything against it?"

Seeing the Emperor's attitude, Liu Yang could not help but feel alarmed, while inwardly sighing with emotion: the world today, after all, was no longer the era of Shizu and Taizong.

Of course, such a sigh Liu Yang dared not express openly. Liu Wenji, after pondering for a while, instructed: "In the name of the Court of Dependencies, issue a document, send it by fast horse to Shule, and summon King Kang to the capital!

The aggrieved party has already brought the case to court — how can we lack the defendant? The court cannot listen only to the one-sided words of the Khotan ruler and ministers. Let King Kang come and explain himself properly regarding the matter of Khotan's destruction!"

Facing the Emperor's decision, Liu Yao's eyes shifted in thought for a few moments, then slowly lit up. When he saw Liu Wenji's calm, placid face on the lounge chair, his heart gradually settled as well.

Regarding Kangju's destruction of Khotan, the court was certainly dissatisfied — this had also thrown a major difficult problem at the court. Punishment was necessary, and the difficulty lay precisely in the question of "degree."

If the punishment was too light, it could not uphold great righteousness, correct the patriarchal law, clarify the court's stance, nor form a deterrent to internal and external vassal states. The court's attitude toward vassal states was indeed increasingly relaxed in restrictions, but that did not mean indulgence or laissez-faire.

Bottom-line issues and principle issues could not be casually breached. These were things established by Emperors Shizu and Taizong — no one could arbitrarily destroy them. And the reform of the vassal system that Liu Wenji wished to carry out was, in essence, still a matter of sorting out and perfecting on the foundation of previous generations — a systematic sorting and codification of bottom lines and principles.

To be fair, King Liu Ye of Kangju's actions were a breaking of political principles. No strong central empire would let such a thing pass easily. Although Khotan was not a vassal state of the Liu surname, its vassal status had been established during the Shizu era. Liu Ye's destruction of it had already sealed its nature, and its influence was bound to be vile.

Looking at it from another angle — if Kangju, for the sake of expanding its power, could bully the weak and destroy Khotan, which was likewise a vassal subject, then one day, if the even more powerful Anxi got the same idea and turned around to destroy Kangju, would it then be Kangju's turn to come to the court to file complaints and cry out?

If other vassal states at home and abroad all followed suit, would the entire imperial vassal system not fall into chaos? The destruction of one Khotan indeed did not amount to much, but placed within the empire's hard-won "new vassal system," it could well be the ant hole that breaches a thousand-li dike.

Thinking even deeper — if Kangju could destroy a vassal state today, then in the future, might it rebel against the central empire and invade the Gaochang Circuit? Do not say the possibility was too low — Liu Ye's act of destroying Khotan had genuinely caused the rulers and ministers of the central empire to contemplate such a possibility.

Therefore, the negative impact brought by the Khotan affair was far more severe than the destruction itself. For the central government of the empire, this was a political incident of serious nature, and it had to be treated with gravity and handled with severity.

But on the other hand, if the punishment was truly too heavy, that would likewise be inappropriate. Although the distance was far, the court absolutely did not lack means — military sanctions were far from necessary, and whether political punishment or economic sanctions, the impact on other vassal states had to be considered.

Although the three kingdoms of Anxi had gone their separate ways for over a decade, when facing the central empire, they would likely still be wearing the same pair of pants. Moreover, Kangju was after all surnamed Liu — even broken bones are connected by sinews. For the sake of a different surname, no matter how high the tune of "patriarchal law" was sung, once things went "too far," it would affect the relations among the imperial bloodline and destroy the trust between the imperial princes and the central government of the empire.

This was truly a troublesome matter with complex internal background, difficult to sort out clearly. And how to both achieve the deterrent effect the court wanted while keeping the impact within a degree acceptable to both suzerain and vassal — this truly tested political wisdom and skill. In fact, the outcome of the Khotan incident was no longer so important; the key lay in the various games and maneuvers during the process of reaching that outcome.

And the Emperor's decision to summon King Kang, Liu Ye, to the capital to explain himself caused Liu Yang to think of many things. First was the case of former Minister of Personnel and chancellor Liu Jichang — before his downfall, he had been collectively reported and impeached, and the Emperor had then opened a court deliberation to let him "prove his innocence."

But what was the result? Liu Jichang fell and went far away to Andong. And thinking of Andong, Liu Yang, who did not know much about the "Liu Jichang incident," could not help but be startled and suspicious — could there be a connection with the Andong state behind it all?

Summoning King Kang to the capital was probably only the first step. As for what the Emperor planned next, Liu Yang, while pondering, grew increasingly curious. He even could not help but say to Liu Wenji: "Forgive your subject's boldness — if King Kang obeys the edict and comes to the capital, what does Your Majesty plan to do?"

Liu Wenji glanced at Liu Yang and said flatly: "If he explains himself well, he will be dealt with leniently. If he explains himself poorly, then we will simply replace the King of Kangju!"

At these words, Liu Yang felt a chill within. Suppressing the shock in his heart, Liu Yang clasped his fists and made a bow, daring not rashly respond to this.

Tapping his fingers lightly on his leg a few times, Liu Wenji spoke again: "As for the exiled ruler of Khotan and his ministers, how they should be settled — do you have any plans?"

At this, Liu Yao asked doubtfully, "The matter of Khotan has yet to be settled — isn't it too early to discuss how to handle the aftermath?" (and change every 'Liu Yang' in paragraphs 3-61 to 'Liu Yao')—isn't it too early to discuss how to handle the aftermath?"

"Whether it's settled or not is one thing! Making arrangements and preparations is another!" Liu Wenji waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Surely we can't let them restore their kingdom?"

From the Emperor's tone, one could tell what the future held for the Kingdom of Khotan. Clearly, the court had mentally prepared itself to accept the fait accompli Liu Ye had created—it was just that this fait accompli would come at a corresponding price.

Hearing the Emperor say this, Liu Yao understood. After pondering for a moment, he offered a suggestion: "How about granting them titles and stipends, and selecting a place within our territory to temporarily settle them?"

"Beyond the Nine Provinces, how vast is the land, and how many enfeoffed states are there—are you afraid we can't find a place to settle Khotan's lord and ministers?" Clearly unsatisfied with this answer, Liu Wenji didn't let him continue, but directly gave instructions: "Hasn't Anxi been occupying quite a few places to the west? Send an envoy to Anxi, and have a piece of land and cities carved out from Prince Wei's territory, to be enfeoffed to Yuchi Jue..."

Were it not for fear of breaching court etiquette, Liu Yao would have sucked in a cold breath. He finally realized—the Emperor was already conceiving a grand scheme.

"I wonder if the Prince of Anxi would be willing to accept this?" Liu Yao pointed out.

At this, Liu Wenji said in an indifferent tone, "Is Anxi not Han territory? Does the Son of Heaven of the Great Han not have the authority to dispose of Han territory?

When my late father enfeoffed meritorious officials and nobles within the various vassal states back then, why should I not be permitted to do the same?"